Apollo Global Management debuts 11.2 billion euro European credit unit

Apollo Global Management launched a European private credit platform on Monday with more than 10 billion euros, or $11.2 billion, in lending capacity. The new European Credit Company is backed by blue-chip investors, including the Abu Dhabi Investment Council.

The venture will invest in performing credit across large and mid-market sectors. Its focus includes corporate and asset-backed lending, as well as loans to real-asset owners in infrastructure and real estate. Giacomo Petrobelli will serve as chief executive officer, while Christian Meissner will act as chairman.

Petrobelli stated that the firm aims to capture a generational opportunity to finance Europe's long-term growth agenda using global capital pools. He said the goal is to build the entity into a premier pan-European credit platform with deep local relationships and differentiated sourcing.

The backing from the Abu Dhabi Investment Council follows a deal announced a week earlier. Apollo agreed to purchase a nearly 10 percent stake in Mubadala Capital, the alternative asset manager subsidiary of Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund.

Other strategic partners in the platform include European insurance group Athora, Japanese lender Norinchukin Bank, Standard Chartered, and Aranda Principal Strategies, a U.S. credit investor. Apollo detailed these partnerships in an official announcement.

Jim Zelter, Apollo’s president, noted that the Global Industrial Renaissance is creating massive financing needs in Europe. He cited energy transition and transmission, defense, and digital and traditional infrastructure as key areas requiring capital.